Fitness

Running on a Dream

How I went from 3 to 10 miles in 3 months: Training for the Broad Street Run.

When I get something in my head, I have to do it. No matter what. If it passes through my brain, and gets lodged for even a second, I am done. I have to do it. This may seem a bit obsessive compulsive (it probably is). When the thought of running the 10 mile Broad Street Run passed through my mind, I knew I was done and I was slightly pissed off. Now, I was going to have to carve out hours to train in an already too-tightly-packed schedule. I was going to have to confront the boredom that is a long distance run. I was going to have to sweat. A LOT.

The longest run I had ever done up until that point was 6 miles and mostly, I ran 3 or 4 miles at a time, a few times a week. My training plan was to add one extra mile per week. All was good until I reached 7 miles. I never had any residual pain from running, but at 7 miles, my body started to complain LOUDLY. My muscles ached, my back and hips hurt and my knees felt like they were going to give out whenever I tried to climb a flight of stairs. After my long run every week, I headed straight for bed and would spend the afternoon recuperating in front of the television, making my boyfriend, Patrick, wait on me hand and foot. "Patrick, can you please get me some acetaminophen? How about a glass of wine? Dinner in bed?"

It took me 2 full days to recover. I started to reconsider. Was the goal of running the Broad Street Run worth spending two days doing absolutely nothing worthwhile in bed? And I began to worry - was I on my way to a hip or knee replacement?

Before giving up, I decided to try Plexus's Ease for my aches and pains and their 96 Protein Powder to help build muscle. I had my doubts - if acetaminophen with a wine chaser did absolutely nothing to relieve my pain, why would Ease work? I was literally amazed at the results. Ease and the 96 Protein Powder eliminated my pain COMPLETELY! I could not believe how good I felt after running for 2 hours. I would take an Ease capsule before my long runs and one after. I drank a 96 Protein Shake after each run as well. (Ease contains New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel. New Zealand’s indigenous Maoris have traditionally eaten these mussels, which are packed full of nutrients that help our bodies in so many ways including reducing inflammation and strengthening joint cartlilage. Protein Powder aids in the repair of torn muscle and helps build lean muscle.)

I 100% believe that I would never have been able to run the 10 miles of the Broad Street Run if I had not started using Ease and 96. They were an absolute game changer and were integral in my reaching my long distance running goal.

So now that I have run 10 miles, maybe I should train for a half marathon? Dammit! Did I really just think that and put it down in writing? You know what that means. Now I have to do it - I have no choice.